I am the father of a non -binary child. I am terrified of what Trump’s plan for schools could mean for them.

When my 10 -year -old non -binary son began the kindergarten in our local public school in 2019, my husband and I care about how they would be received by teachers and classmates.

We live in a progressive neighborhood, at least abroad. Passing next to the historic brown stones on the way to school, we could see flags and posters of the rainbow with the words: “They are the weapons!” Or simply, “Fuck Trump!” And yet, when we approached the teacher and the director of our son before the beginning of his school garden school year, they told us that they were the first non -binary child in school.

Fortunately, their teachers and school administrators supported the gender identity of our children. His teacher offered to read the books we provided to school because they had none at that time. They also agreed to share them with the other teachers.

One afternoon, when I arrived at Pickup, his teacher stopped me at the door. “I wanted to tell you how good it was today when I presented one of the books you gave us in the time of the story,” he said. She told me how I had read aloud the pages of the enlightened book, “Who are you?

“The children seemed to get it,” he added.

A few months after the school year, I asked my son how they felt at school if someone referred to them as a boy or a girl. “Oh, I don’t have to say anything,” they told me. “My friends only tell them.” My son not only felt seen, they felt protected and loved among his classmates. It was a great comfort to know that we had people (of all ages) on the corner of our son.

Now, more than ever, I feel that we were one of the lucky ones. During those incredibly formative years of primary school, we lived under a very different landscape of tolerance for trans and non -binary young people.

The progress and acceptance that my son’s school experience has marked now runs the risk of disappearing. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive action that indicates that the United States government will now recognize only two sexes, men and women. This was soon followed by a Executive order That, among other actions, it indicates that federal agencies and programs significantly limit access to the attention affirmed by gender for trans and non -binary young people under 19 years. As of February 15, the order has been temporarily blocked By two federal judges, but some medical care providers from the United States have been preventively Stopped offering treatment For trans patients.

In addition, Trump issued an order specifically for US public schools. He Executive order, Titled “Radical Ending Adoctrination in K-12 Schooling”, tries to uproot “gender ideology”, which Trump defines as the idea that “there is a great spectrum of genres that are disconnected from sex.” The order could keep the schools that affirm and support the trans identities of trans and non -binary gender (for example, by allowing trans children to participate in school sports) to receive federal funds, which is especially essential for those in unattended or poor communities.

I am struggling to see what is exactly “radical” about education in public schools as it is. There is currently no prescribed curriculum to teach gender diversity in public schools in the United States. In New York, schools must provide HIV/AIDS instruction, but sex education (even about gender identity) is left for individual school districts to decide. In the past, defenders have tried to make progressive Sexual Education Legislation, But this stopped abrupt in early 2020 to prioritize pandemic aid efforts.

The New York City Education Department currently operates under a set of best practices to support transgender and non -binary students, entitled “Guidelines to support transgender and gender expansive students. “These guidelines include ordering school staff to use a neutral gender language in all school communications and provide access to bathrooms consisting of a child’s gender identity. But the” study plan “section of the guidelines is only one of only 180 words and is vague at best.

And now, little support exists for trans and non -binary children in the United States schools run the risk of being completely expelled or becoming reasons for federal reprisals. If federal agencies advance with the implementation of Trump’s orders to “present appropriate actions against K-12 teachers and school officials who violate the law”, simply using the term “non-binary” to describe a minor could be a reason for legal actions.

While I am grateful that our child went to school at a time when doing so was not as dangerous as it is under this new administration, I’m afraid that school will become an insecure environment for my son and other students like them. The studies show That claim of the gender identity of one by others has important implications for mental health among trans young people. According The Trevor project42% of young LGBTQ+ seriously considered suicide attempt in the last year, including more than half of transgender and non -binary young people. Affirmative environments, such as schools and support communities, can reduce the risk of suicide by Up to 50%.

Recently, our school distributed a letter from our Superintendent and members of the school community of our district, reinforcing the commitment of the district of “promoting an inclusive, equitable and supporting environment for all students.” In the letter, the district establishes that they will continue to follow the “Guidelines to support transgender and gender expansive students“ And to offer resources for students to feel affirmed and recognized, such as “Hidden voices“ Curriculum (which celebrates the contributions of LGBTQ+ and other marginalized people). I am encouraged by messages like this and I hope our community remains firm in resisting efforts to limit what schools can teach.

For now, I have been protecting my two children from the horrors of the news within the reasonable. I try to summarize what is happening because I don’t want them to live in the dark. When they have specific questions, I answer them clear and simply, careful not to overexplain or make them feel overwhelmed or without protection. But my two children are painfully aware of how much intolerance can really live in the hearts of some people.

I am doing what I can to keep me ahead of things, such as joining private groups on platforms encrypted with other parents like me. My son is not yet in a stage of development in which we could consider puberty blockers, but I am listening to what families with children who have been receiving attention that the genre are happening at this time and taking detailed notes and screenshots in the support methods of obtaining these recipes. Parents like us are even exchanging ideas about where to move abroad. As the granddaughter of the Holocaust survivors who fled her country due to persecution, it is impossible for me not to feel echoes of the past in the attempt of planned limitations for trans and non -binary Americans.

For the parents of trans and non -binary children, it seems that the world is starring around us, and very few are fighting with us or in our name. Unfortunately, among my friends friends, this topic rarely appears in the conversation. Recently, a friend sent me a text message to ask if friends and family have been registering with us to see how we are facing as much hate aimed at families and ours. I had not thought about it until they asked me, but my heart sank when I told the numbers and written to me: “only 2 people.”

We cannot be complacent about the many ways in which Trump is attacking our children, and especially LGBTQ+children. Parents, caregivers and allies need to know how much is at stake if these actions become law. Restricting civil rights is everyone’s problem. Today, the objective are trans and adult children, among other marginalized groups. Tomorrow, who knows?

We need those who are worried to communicate with trans and non -binary people in their community, who advocate us at the meetings of the school board and communicate with local representatives. I don’t have all the answers, but I know that I, and others like me, I can’t do this alone.

Do you have a convincing personal story that you would like to see published in HuffPost? Discover what we are looking for here and send us a launch to [email protected].